2018: A year to consolidate the industry from ROMBET’s perspective

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The year 2018 is the year in which the primary and secondary legislation, by means of GEO 77/2009 and GR 111/2016, shall entirely show their effects given that they have set the foundation of a regulation that is modern and in complete compliance with European recommendations with regards to a common goal, which is a stable and well regulated industry.

It is the year in which the NOG (National Office for Gambling) shall regulate certain key fields which have yet to be sufficiently clarified, be it either responsible games, which shall become more evident in 2018, including through the Responsible Game Foundation, a clarification necessary for approving publicity activities, because there are still debates and different approaches among operators, especially between the specificity of promoting on-line operators and land-based operators.

2018 is the year in which the provisions of the “tax revolution” enter into force and in which ROMBET, by means of the seminaries it shall organize, both in Bucharest and at national level, must give answers to a series of questions which are constantly asked by gambling organizers:

Establishing the type of tax which is to be paid, by respecting the statement obligations provided by law:

The income tax of micro-enterprises, in the context in which, on 31.12.2017, they gained income which has not exceeded the RON equivalent of a million euros, at the exchange rate valid upon the closing of the fiscal year, with the question, if, perhaps, with the approval of GEO 79/2017, things shall return to their initial provisions, according to which the income from gambling cannot be taxed as such;

The specific tax, for activities provided under Law 170 from 2016 in conditions in which it does not enter within the income tax of micro-enterprises, which has priority against the specific tax for all other gambling adjacent activities;

Practical measures as to apply provisions regarding transferring compulsory social contributions due on behalf of employees with obligations attributed to employers. To this respect, the employer is to establish, retain, declare and pay the obligations due by employees, as well;

The level of contributions due and the income tax starting with the year 2018:

Employee: social security contribution due to the state social security budget – 25%; health insurance contributions due to the Sole national health insurance fund – 10%.

Employer: labor collateral contribution due to the state budget – 2.25%.

Tax rate: the tax rate is of 10% and it is applied to the taxable income associated to each source of each category used to determine tax.

Speaking about 2018, Mr. Dan Ghiță, ROMBET president, said that “it is important to give the signal we have to give: we have consolidated market, stable, transparent and regulated. Moreover, we are predisposed to change as the desire to grow is still extremely strong. We have a young generation of business people in the industry, and this is another very good sign, because they have made their reputation in an era of change, they know what it means and are prepared for it. Even more so, they will also generate it”.

Mr. Bogdan Coman, ROMBET Executive Director, believes that 2018 shall produce several more changes: more and more support companies arise for the gambling industry, which provide services especially for specialized software development. “If we turn our attention to neighboring countries – Bosnia, Serbia, Macedonia, Bulgaria – we see that this is becoming a more and more accentuated trend. IT companies in the industry, from the Balkans, are becoming more and more important all over Europe. This represents an extraordinary opportunity for Romania because of the fact that our country is known for its human resources in IT. We believe that this trend shall go on and shall become even more evident this year, not only based on accessing resources in the region, but also as a result of internal growth signaled by many of our association’s members”.

From an organizational point of view, ROMBET hopes that 2018 shall be the year in which associations in the field shall work best together and shall unite their efforts for more unity in strategies and actions. It all has already started in 2017: now, it’s time to enforce the partnership between associations.